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Friends, though divided A Tale of the Civil War By: George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) |
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A TALE OF THE CIVIL WAR BY G.A. HENTY
AUTHOR OF "IN TIMES OF PERIL," "THE YOUNG FRANCTIREURS,"
"THE YOUNG BUGLERS," ETC, ETC.
PREFACE
My dear lads: Although so long a time has elapsed since the great civil
war in England, men are still almost as much divided as they were then
as to the merits of the quarrel, almost as warm partisans of the one
side or the other. Most of you will probably have formed an opinion as
to the rights of the case, either from your own reading, or from hearing
the views of your elders. For my part, I have endeavored to hold the scales equally, to relate
historical facts with absolute accuracy, and to show how much of right
and how much of wrong there was upon either side. Upon the one hand, the
king by his instability, bad faith, and duplicity alienated his best
friends, and drove the Commons to far greater lengths than they had at
first dreamed of. Upon the other hand, the struggle, begun only to win
constitutional rights, ended owing to the ambition, fanaticism, and
determination to override all rights and all opinions save their own, of
a numerically insignificant minority of the Commons, backed by the
strength of the army in the establishment of the most complete
despotism England has ever seen. It may no doubt be considered a failing on my part that one of my heroes
has a very undue preponderance of adventure over the other. This I
regret; but after the scale of victory turned, those on the winning side
had little to do or to suffer, and one's interest is certainly with the
hunted fugitive, or the slave in the Bermudas, rather than with the
prosperous and well to do citizen. Yours very sincerely, G.A. HENTY.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. The Eve of the War CHAPTER II. For the King CHAPTER III. A Brawl at Oxford CHAPTER IV. Breaking Prison CHAPTER V. A Mission of State CHAPTER VI. A Narrow Escape CHAPTER VII. In a Hot Place CHAPTER VIII. The Defense of an Outpost CHAPTER IX. A Stubborn Defense CHAPTER X. The Commissioner of the Convention CHAPTER XI. Montrose CHAPTER XII. An Escape from Prison CHAPTER XIII. Public Events CHAPTER XIV. An Attempt to Rescue the King CHAPTER XV. A Riot in the City CHAPTER XVI. The Execution of King Charles CHAPTER XVII. The Siege of Drogheda CHAPTER XVIII. Slaves in the Bermudas CHAPTER XIX. A Sea Fight CHAPTER XX. With the Scotch Army CHAPTER XXI. The Path Across the Morass CHAPTER XXII. Kidnaped CHAPTER XXIII. The Battle of Worcester CHAPTER XXIV. Across the Sea. CHAPTER XXV. A Plot Overheard CHAPTER XXVI. Rest at Last
FRIENDS, THOUGH DIVIDED.
CHAPTER I. THE EVE OF THE WAR.
It was a pleasant afternoon in the month of July, 1642, when three young
people sat together on a shady bank at the edge of a wood some three
miles from Oxford. The country was undulating and picturesque, and a
little more than a mile in front of them rose the lofty spire of St.
Helen's, Abingdon. The party consisted of two lads, who were about
fifteen years of age, and a girl of ten. The lads, although of about the
same height and build, were singularly unlike. Herbert Rippinghall was
dark and grave, his dress somber in hue, but good in material and well
made. Harry Furness was a fair and merry looking boy; good humor was the
distinguishing characteristic of his face; his somewhat bright and
fashionably cut clothes were carelessly put on, and it was clear that no
thought of his own appearance or good looks entered his mind. He wore
his hair in ringlets, and had on his head a broad hat of felt with a
white feather, while his companion wore a plain cap, and his hair was
cut closely to his head. "It is a bad business, Harry," the latter said, "but, there is one
satisfaction that, come what may, nothing can disturb our friendship. We
have never had a quarrel since we first met at the old school down
there, six years ago. We have been dear friends always, and my only
regret has been that your laziness has prevented our being rivals, for
neither would have grudged the other victory... Continue reading book >>
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